Not just about female MPs, but across the board with female representation in all sectors

Panel has a range of expertise, JI welcomed first speaker, Rebecca Pow MP

Rebecca Pow MP

MP for Taunton Deane, lived in the area for 30 years

Previously a broadcaster/journalist for years, with 3 children

Always been a community ‘doer’, involved in the local area, on the Parish Council

In summer 2012, the Leader of the local Council approached RP to ask if she had considered running for Parliament

Given the age of her children, saw this as her last window

Vital that women do not underestimate their talents

Becoming a Member of Parliament is a long process

RP ‘wasn’t on the radar’ at the time and didn’t get much advice

Set her sights on her home town, a challenging, Liberal Democrat area, but applied for a practice seat in Wells where she got an interview

Daunting process, the assessment was in front of the entire association

At this point RP met the CWO – really helpful, kind and understanding

CWO helped with political messaging

Second practice seat in Frome and really worked on unique selling point (USP)

Honed in her skills and got help with speech writing

Had an interview for Taunton Deane (TD) in July 2013, where they decided to hold an open primary – thankfully she was selected

At this point, there was no support from CCHQ as TD was not a 40/40 seat

Set up her own campaign and ran the seat like a 40.40 (target) seat

Good to have a mentor – Sarah Newton MP was RP’s mentor, extremely supportive

Winter 2014 a secret poll revealed that RP’s recognition was good and the seat was moved into the 40/40 category, which meant more help from CCHQ

CWO sent a team down to campaign and Women 2 Win helped to raise money

Won the GE 2015, with a swing to the Conservatives giving her a majority of just under 15,500, 2nd biggest swing in the country

Got into Parliament and it was a baptism of fire, but also very exciting to be a member of the Governing party

Given a number when you enter Parliament – RP is 379th female MP ever elected, shocking

Some observations: more women need to come forward. Get involved wherever possible in public life/apppointments, be it the local council/school governor

Ask yourself why you want to do it

For RP, it was to represent TD and to work on environmental issues (she is now PPS at DEFRA)

As a politician, you stand a chance at making a difference – huge leaps in DEFRA, i.e. banning microbeads

When making policy, women can bring different things to the table

MPs are better as a team when there is more balance

Take advantage of the CWO and all the training it can offer. The nation will benefit

Lucy Frazer MP

Selected without a practice seat and won with a majority of nearly 17,000

Background as a barrister and became a young QC

Recently appointed PPS to the Lord Chancellor

Didn’t set out in life to become a MP

Had a gap year after university and worked at the UN

Always wanted to make a difference, so became a barrister

Wanted to get involved and so looked for/sought out public appointments

Didn’t want the publicity of becoming a MP, but saw it as the only way to do what she wanted

Looked on the internet and found the CWO – went to ALL the courses

CWO helped her to build confidence in the new venture, she met some people who became friends

When preparing for PAB, she found 4 people to practice with once a week

Found the PAB quite fun and, thankfully, passed

Head of candidates asked which practice seat she would apply for, but LF said she wanted to go straight for a safe seat

Lucky with SE Cambridgeshire – vibrant area

They say your constituency finds you

No help from CCHQ – safe seat, predecessor there for 20 years

Took majority from 5,000 to nearly 17,000

Knew nothing at the start of the campaign, there was no association, no building, no members, no Chair – LF built that all up

When asked how does it compare… Even better than anticipated

As a MP you have a real ability to get things done

On a negative note: note family friendly. LF’s children currently aged 12 and 9, but meant when they were younger she would never see them in the evenings, tries to most mornings

It was long hours as a barrister, but time was your own. Now, there is no control over time

In 2015, LF’s Grandma was ill in Leeds and only had a short while to live. Asked Whips if could go to the funeral, but Whips couldn’t promise

Need more women in public appointments (BBC/NHS)

A woman once gave LF some advice: 1. Apply 2. Apply 3. Apply

You need to put your name down to even begin

Q: Any advice on campaign strategy?

A from LF: Best thing is to start with a survey – ask what residents care about, get a voting intention and if they want to get involved. This gets your name out there, gives you an idea of numbers and gets you a group of volunteers. When campaigning, always focus on people who will get out to vote, not those that aren’t registered

Rachel Maclean MP

Stood unsuccessfully in 2015

Previously Chair of West-Midlands CWO

Never expected to become a MP and was never interested in politics until 9 years ago when her daughter (14 at the time) said she might like to study politics at uni

RM took her daughter down to the local Conservative Association

A local cllr asked if she would like to stand for the Council

Thought about it and realised she was very interested in a lot of national issues, in particular business and social mobility, so went online and found CWO

Went on as many courses at CWO and W2W as possible

You MUST apply, to begin anything

RM set her heart on her home seat, but made a mess of it and it was heart-broken when they chose a man from London

Important to be resilient

When she didn’t win in 2015, she almost gave up, believing she was too old and should move on, go back to work

Then the GE 2017 was called and RM knew she would like to apply

Always grab the opportunity, even if you thought it wasn’t supposed to happen – RM found out about Redditch when she got a call from a woman in the Association whose mum RM had helped years before

You can never see how it will turn out for you

Advice: 1. Be resilient 2. It could work somewhere you don’t think off 3. Be YOU with more, you don’t have to be like other MPs

Get involved, wherever that may be. CWO is focused in London, but if you can, get on a train or build up a branch in your area

Q: Your home seat where you wanted to stand was Birmingham Northfield. Did they elect a Tory? A: No. See, things happen for a reason!

Mims Davies MP

Eastleigh never looked like a winner and now has a majority of around 14,000

AS got involved – took the PAB but was rejected – decided she had to go on or give up, but really wanted it, so got more involved in CWO to increase political footprint

She was told to come back after 2015, but asked to be seen again and, thankfully, was

Selected for Derby North and won with a majority of 41 (after 3 recounts)

Great sadness that she was only there for 2 years, but she wants to come back

It was a fantastic experience, you can make a difference

You MUST have the confidence to believe you can do it – that’s the greatest gift we can give everyone, the confidence to do something

Q&A session

Q: advice for PAB.

A: RM – go to CWO/W2W mock PAB sessions. Practice was harder than the real thing, so this can help. Get up to date with current affairs/learn topical stuff. Get informed. Hard work in your local area is never wasted. Show grassroots experience and demonstrate grit and resilience. It is supposed to be challenging, but you don’t have to be perfect.

A: AS – you can put it off, but don’t. People are generous in their help.

A: MD – Find a mentor to help with PAB, Paul Scully did that for her. Nicholas Soames said a seat is a seat. On the personal side, she was married and had a supportive husband, but no more. The split was not due to the job, but the job will find the faults. Anyone can do this, single/with children/married. Everything can help, but if things change, you are very well supported in Parliament. Be honest about your personal life. In your PAB, be authentic – the job is hard enough without pretending to be someone else or fit in a box.

Q: How to manage the money/cost of a campaign, giving up your job and what about the support of a partner?

JI – target seats are difficult to juggle with a job. Elections do cost a lot, but money shouldn’t be a barrier. There are ways to raise it and help available.

Q: Vitriol and abuse, how to protect yourself and your family (Momentum)?

A: RM – it is going to exist, in person and on social media, but don’t look. Otherwise it is a slippery slope. Get someone else to help. It’s a managed process, Momentum is great online, they will twist what you say out of context and there will be constant attacks. Physical abuse, lots of help and protection as a MP. You can be available to the public, just follow the procedures in place. It comes with the territory, so you have to be prepared to defend it.

A: MD – recently ramped up massively. Conservatives have been governing and getting on with it and Momentum has been campaigning. As Chair of APPG for Women in Parliament, has been calling out this abuse on women. She doesn’t even check FB. People will jump in and defend you, but be prepared to call it out. MD always has a male with her at surgery appointments and does phone surgeries. To be a Tory at the moment is not a comfortable place. MD will not put pictures of her children on social media. Do it your own way. Doesn’t have to be a war on every front. Be sensible.

JI thanked everyone for attending

Meeting closed

For further information about the CWO, or to arrange an interview with anyone named in this release, please contact:

Popular Pages

Video introduction toConservative Young Women

Close

Close

About the CWO

The Conservative Women's Organisation was founded in 1919, although its roots go back to 1885 and the Primrose League. It continues to work for the women members of the Conservative Party and to represent their views to the Party Leader, Chairman and MPs. The CWO also works with many NGOs, giving a voice to smaller campaigns and publicising national and international ones. We network with businesses (CWO Enterprise), put forward policy (CWO Forums) and work with women and men interested in standing for public office (CWO Development).